Terms

Basic Household Rate

Assistance which can be issued to cover basic needs based on unit size and program and is defined in Schedule A of the Family Income Security Act.

Blind

The Medical Advisory Board considers an individual for certification that has been confirmed to be legally blind (according to the Family Income Security Act) by an opthamologist or optometrist. See Blind, Deaf or Disabled policy for more details.

Community Resources

Any resource in the community that the Department could make a referral for service.

Cut Off

The last day each month on which you may make changes to a case to ensure that the assistance cheque is ready for the first of the following month. This date is pre-set in the system and will usually fall between the 21st to the 23rd of each month.

Deaf

The Medical Advisory Board considers an individual for certification that has been confirmed to be a person being assessed as having an average hearing threshold sensitivity for air conduction of 90 decibels or worse in the person’s better ear and a bone conduction hearing threshold of 60 decibels or worse in the person’s better ear after audiometry testing, in which hearing loss is calculated by averaging the person’s hearing at the sound frequencies of 500 hertz, 1000 hertz and 2000 hertz, or being assessed as unable to repeat more than 40% of a list of standardized words spoken after word recognition testing as verified by the Medical Advisory Board under subsection 4(5).  See Blind, Deaf or Disabled policy for more details.

Disabled

The Medical Advisory Board considers an individual for certification who suffers from a major physiological, anatomical, or psychological impairment, which severely limits the individual in normal living activities, and which is likely to continue indefinitely without substantial improvement; (i.e. totally and permanently disabled).

Emergency

An unavoidable and unforeseen occurrence, situation, or set of circumstances occurring at the present time and requiring an immediate response which is seen as crisis intervention.

Guardian

Person legally responsible for another person.

Head of Household

Unit head or the person most responsible to represent the unit. In general, this individual will be the Payee for the unit's assistance cheque.

Parent

A person with sole or joint custody of a dependent, or any guardian who has assumed parental responsibility.

Priority Groups

Client groups that may have higher needs and may be eligible to receive special benefits. These groups consist of the following:

• Women in Transition (Women leaving abusive situations, not necessarily just in Transition House)
• Disaster Victims (i.e. fire or flood)
• Youth at Risk
• Families - single or two parent-with children with shelter costs over 40% of their income
• Pre and Post-Natal women and infants
• Certified Blind or Disabled
• Deinstitutionalized project clients